Inconsequential Consequences
by lassy650
Summary: A spin-off based on the aftermath of Star-crossed. Shayera has resigned from the Justice League but where does she go, what does she do and what consequences ensue? WIP - Rated M for later scenes.


Disclaimer: I do not own or hold any rights to Hawkgirl or any other characters contained within this story.

Chapter 1

Shayera held her breath, listening for any sign of movement. A rustle of leaves echoed to her right, a bird cawed off in the distance but neither sound provoked her movement. A few moments later a loud boom of thunder rocked the trees, spooking birds into flight, a precursor to the incoming storm. A corner of her mouth tugged up in a sinister smile. It was time.

Flexing her wings, Shayera used her strength to take off at a steep climb, her muscles bunching as she climbed higher into the turbulent skies. Hovering a few feet above the forestry, she watched the clouds as they grumbled with bouts of thunder, waiting for the inevitability of lightning. Within seconds a loud crack issued through the sky, followed by a fork of bright white light spiraling down to strike a nearby treetop. Further cracks echoed around her and she shot into action, flying above the treetops, snaking in between forks of lightning that seemed to be trying their best to skewer her. Feeling a sense of joy that she rarely had a chance to experience since her resignation from the League, Shayera let a quiet laugh bubble as she gleefully enjoyed the dangerous rage of the storm, raging above her newfound domain.

She banked to her left and then to her right, anticipating the storm as it shot down from the sky to wreak havoc on trees that threatened to grow too high. Not anticipating a stray branch, one of Shayera's feet glanced the protruding wood and threw off her flight, causing the tip of her wing to receive a singe from a nearby lighting strike. Gasping at the unexpected pain, she reflexively closed her wings and started falling at an alarming rate towards the forest floor.

Trying to spread her wings to slow her decent, Shayera grit her teeth as the air cut harshly against her wings, ripping feathers free as she fell back to earth. Fighting to slow her fall, Shayera's mind wandered to a day spent in the garden of Dr. Fate's estate where she had found momentary respite after resigning for the league.

"_Flowers bloom when they're ready Shayera, not before."_

"_I'm no flower. I don't know what I am. I'm not Lt. Shayera Hall of the Thanagarian Empire. Not anymore. I've been stripped of my rank, exiled from my home world. I'm not Hawkgirl that was always a sham. Most people on Earth will never trust me again and I can't blame them. When I do my job people get hurt, people I care about."_

"_And what happens when you don't do your job?"_

A tear began to trickle down her cheek before being carried away by the winds whipping against her face. Still falling back to Earth, she continued to attempt to open her wings before crashing into a thick branch which subsequently knocked her unconscious and left her body to continue its fall, now unencumbered by her attempts to slow her momentum.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Grogginess didn't even begin to cover the feelings Shayera woke to several hours later. Her body ached all over, her wings screamed in pain and yet she wasn't lying on the hard ground that would have most definitely broken her fall. Slowly opening her eyes, Shayera looked around to find herself lying on a bed of leaves arranged against one wall of a gaping cave. A fire crackled a few feet away, with a skewered rabbit roasting above its flames. Attempting to sit up, she winced in pain and lay back down, eyeing her surroundings with curiosity. Various pieces of makeshift furniture were arranged around the room, extremely crude in both their craft and design. Unable to move due to the pain coursing through her body, Shayera had no choice but to study her surroundings and wait for the pain to stop or whoever had come to her aid to reappear.

Time passed in perhaps hours, minutes or seconds, she wasn't sure but eventually her ears picked up the sound of light footsteps making their way into the cave. Testing the strength of her muscles, Shayera attempted to sit up once again and found the pain in her body had lessened. She managed to sit up albeit in more of a slump than an upright position. Her eyes flicked to the entrance of the cave and landed upon a small group of children raging in age from about five to eight. There were three girls and two boys all looking at her with some degree of fascination and awe. One girl, seemingly the oldest in the group, took a daring step towards Shayera and grinned from ear to ear before putting her arms out parallel to the ground. She then proceeded to skip around the cave making what Shayera could only describe as flying sounds. The children all giggled at their leaders antics and stared pointedly at Shayera.

"Well, hell."


End file.
